Houdini and Jennie, the disappearing elephant, at the Hippodrome in New York in 1918

Houdini's Magic Tricks
Some magicians might make a rabbit jump out of a hat or a bird disappear into thin air, but that was too easy for Houdini. He had to work with an elephant! In 1918, in the middle of the brightly lit stage of the Hippodrome theater in New York City, Houdini made a 10,000-pound elephant named Jennie disappear. The act was called "The Vanishing Elephant," and when Houdini fired a pistol, Jennie vanished from view. Houdini had created a sensation. This incredible trick helped make Houdini a world-famous master of illusion.